


National Lampoon's Hargreeves Family Vacation

by violently_knits



Category: The Umbrella Academy (Comics), The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Family Bonding, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, M/M, No Incest, Post-Canon, Post-Canon Fix-It, Sibling Bonding, Sober Klaus Hargreeves, Summer Vacation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2020-11-23 05:23:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20886815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/violently_knits/pseuds/violently_knits
Summary: The Hargreeves are tired after saving the world and need a summer vacation. They rent a cabin near the ocean for a week, trying to rebuild relationships and bond after all they've been through. Vanya tries to fit herself into a family she never felt a part of. Klaus is still dealing with sobriety and grief after Dave's death. Allison tries to rekindle the relationship she once had with her sister, all while trying to keep everyone from arguing all the time, asserting herself as the mother of the group after they lost Grace and Pogo. Family antics ensue.





	1. Monday

**Author's Note:**

> Yes I took the title from Vacation and Christmas Vacation with the Griswolds. If you love those movies then we can be friends.

Allison runs out early in the morning to rent a van. All seven of them--she'd like to leave some space for Ben even though he doesn't take up any physical space--wouldn't fit in their car, especially with all the luggage they'd be bringing with them. Luther packed minimally, but his clothes were so big that they took up much more space than anyone else's. Diego was taking his trunk with all his knives with them. For target practice, he said, but everyone knew that that boy could never rest, even if being a vigilante wasn't his day job. Allison knew she was high maintenance, having an extensive morning routine. She got used to the Hollywood life, and she was going to take it with her on vacation. She totaled three suitcases by herself. Klaus was just as high maintenance as his sister, feeling the need to bring an outfit for any possible situation they could find themselves in. He, too, had three of his own suitcases. Five only packed a suit (not his Academy uniform), his swimsuit, and a pair of pajamas. He only needed to bring a backpack. Vanya packed enough clothes for the days they would be gone and her violin case. 

They left around eight in the morning, much to Klaus's dismay. He was not a morning person, practically being nocturnal. Everyone packed their bags in the trunk of the van. Five insisted on driving, "I don't entirely trust the rest of you," he said. Unfortunately, the front seat was a bench seat, so when Five pulled it up close enough for his thirteen-year-old legs to reach the pedals, only Klaus was able to scrunch himself up enough to fit in the front passenger seat. Klaus didn't mind, at least he got shotgun. Vanya and Allison sat behind them, talking and keeping each other entertained for the duration of the three-hour car ride. Luther and Diego sat awkwardly in the back, leaving a space in the middle between them, "for Ben," Luther told them. 

The drive was long and quiet until they stopped at a rest stop halfway through their journey for breakfast. Luther filled up the gas tank, while the rest of them decided where they would eat. Diego found a diner up the street. They used to love going to Griddy's as kids, and this place looked similar. They walked through the front door, a bell ringing as they did. The place looked empty, save for two truckers sitting at the counter. "Hi, how many?" The waitress greeted them.

"Six." Diego said.

"Seven." Klaus corrected him. The waitress counted them mentally and was confused. "All right," she said, grabbing another menu, "right this way." She led them to a large, round booth at the back of the restaurant. They each ordered coffee, Diego and Five drinking theirs black. Klaus even ordered coffee for Ben, who sat in the empty space between him and Five. He ended up drinking Ben's coffee anyway. He always ordered something for Ben out of habit when he went out somewhere. Sometimes he forgot his brother was dead and that everyone else couldn't see him. 

They each finished their meals and got back on the road, another hour and a half to go. Luther brought his CD collection with him, keeping it hidden in his coat pocket until he felt the time was right. Individual conversations had died down and they were all silently watching the scenery pass them by. He chose a CD he burned, a compilation of all their favorite songs they used to dance to when Hargreeves allowed them some free time. He passed the CD up to Allison, who smiled knowingly. She passed it up to Klaus, telling him to put it in the CD player. As soon as he heard what song it was, he turned the volume way up. 

"Come on, guys. That's too loud. I'm trying to concentrate on the road." Five complained.

"You need to lighten up, old man." Klaus yelled over the loud music.

They listened to Tiffany's "I Think We're Alone Now," a classic in the Hargreeves' playlist, followed by some Queen, '90s pop, and a little bit of classical, as per Vanya's request. Luther was trying to rebuild their relationship after locking her up in the chamber. He thought this would be a small step forward. The "Phantom of the Opera" instrumental came on, and she smiled at him thankfully. 

They ran out of songs and fell back into a comfortable silence. They were getting close to the cabin anyway. "Are we there yet?" Ben piped up from the back. Klaus pulled down his sun visor and opened the mirror to look back at him.

"Patience, dear brother." He smirked. This was ironic, because usually Klaus was the one who always asked if they were almost there whenever they took car rides together.

As they pulled up the driveway, Klaus flung open the car door, eager to stretch his legs. Luther popped the trunk and started taking their suitcases inside. Allison opened the front door, taking in the wooden smell of the cabin. She drew back the curtains, letting some natural light in. Klaus ran behind her and up the stairs yelling, "I get the master bedroom!" She laughed at her brother. There weren't enough rooms for all of them to have their own. She and Vanya agreed to share a room, giving them some girl time away from the boys. Five absolutely needed his own bedroom so as not to go completely insane with annoyance of the others. Luther and Diego weren't civil enough to share a bedroom. Diego said he'd rather sleep on the pull-out couch in the living room, so he did. 

It was lunch time by the time they all got settled in and unpacked. Allison brought enough food for them to make lunch for that day and some snacks for the car ride, of which Klaus and Luther had already eaten most of them. Luther helped Allison put together sandwiches for them all to take as a picnic on the beach. Klaus admired the view from the back door. The back of the cabin faced the ocean. He took his shoes off and made his way to the beach before the others noticed he was gone, the white-hot sand burning the bottoms of his feet, the sun glaring off the ocean waves. He took and deep breath and sat down at the water's edge, just far enough from the water as not to get his pants wet. Ben crouched down next to him. 

"I wish Dave were here to see all this. He talked all the time about wanting to live in a beach house when he got out of 'Nam. He would have loved this." Klaus smiled fondly.

"Are you going to be okay?" Ben wondered.

"Yeah, yeah I'll be okay. One day at a time. That's what they told me all the time in rehab, right?" 

"You'll get to see him again, Klaus. You'll find him. You just need a little bit more practice." He said reassuringly.

"I know." 

Back inside the cabin, Klaus heard Vanya practicing her violin. He loved hearing her play. It calmed him down when he was sad or stressed. She stopped playing suddenly, following her siblings who now caught up with Klaus, sandwiches in hand. Vanya handed Klaus his own sandwich. He thanked her.

"Can you bring your violin out and play some more?" He asked between bites. He cocked his head at her. "Please? For your favorite brother?"

She nodded and went back inside to grab her violin and her bow. She closed her eyes and began playing, getting lost in the music. When she was finished, everyone around her was silent. She opened her eyes to make sure they were all still there. 

Klaus placed his hand on her leg. "That was beautiful."

"Wow." Allison whispered. "I never knew you could play like that." 

"Did you guys never listen when she was practicing when we were growing up?" Five asked them. "Except for me and Klaus, none of you ever really paid attention."

"I guess we uh... had other stuff going on." Luther defended them. 

Five looked over in Allison's direction knowingly. "Yeah. I figured."

They cleaned up and went back inside, except for Klaus, who stayed where he was. He said he wanted some peace and quiet. He noticed there weren't any ghosts around, except for Ben, but even Ben left him alone to go hang out with the rest of the family. Klaus needed some silence after the constant nagging he got at home from the ghosts that tended to follow him everywhere he went now that he was clean and sober. Klaus had been sober for almost a year now, but even then, he still had some tough days. Sometimes it was due to his cravings for drugs or alcohol coming back. He gave up any drugs he had hidden in his room to Diego, who also cleaned out the liquor cabinet to make sure Klaus wouldn't get tempted to fall off the wagon. Sometimes it was due to the volume of ghosts with which he was bombarded from the time he woke up, whether that was day or night, until he fell asleep again. Sometimes that lasted for days, plural. 

Vanya came back out with a bottle in her hand. "Here's some sunscreen. Don't burn up out here. It's only Monday, and we're here for five more days." She ruffled his hair and left him by himself. Klaus took her advice. He walked back to the cabin's shed and found an umbrella and an old lounge chair and dragged them back to his spot by the water. He slathered himself in sunscreen, putting a little extra on his face and shoulders, which burnt the easiest. He started to drift off to sleep, the sound of the waves crashing on the shore sending him further to rest. 

Diego was sent out around six o'clock that evening to go collect his brother for dinner. They were going out to another diner, having not gone grocery shopping yet. That could wait until tomorrow. He shook Klaus's shoulder until Klaus started to blink his eyes open.

"What'd I miss?" Klaus asked, his voice still raspy from sleep.

"Come on, we're going out for dinner." He pulled Klaus to his feet. "You got a little redness on your face, right here under your eyes." 

"Dammit, I must've missed a spot." Klaus pulled his shoes back on and followed Diego back into the house. 

"You alright?" Allison asked Klaus as he passed her walking out the front door.

Klaus hesitated, thinking. "I'm really good, actually." He smiled lazily at her and she smiled too, patting him on the back. Klaus and Allison weren't the closest growing up, but it didn't mean she never cared about him. Allison secretly wished she had come home when she heard about Klaus's multiple trips to the ER and to rehab. She did pay off most of his bills for him. He never knew. She felt too swept up in her life in LA, and in having her own family to take care of now, but she still wished she had gone home to visit more often. Allison felt that she detached herself because she didn't want to be a part of the Umbrella Academy anymore. She wanted to make a new life for herself. Unfortunately, that meant abandoning her old life in the process. 

They all piled back into the van, Luther driving this time. Allison sat up front with him. Five, Diego, and Vanya sat in the middle section, all squished together. Klaus sat with Ben in the back, having a conversation all their own. They sat down at a table in the diner and ordered, of course ordering something for Ben as well. They didn't have much to talk about. A diner was no place to start rebuilding relationships. It wasn't exactly an awkward silence between them, but they all secretly wished someone would start a conversation. About anything. Ben picked up on this and told Klaus what to tell the others.

"Hey guys, Ben wants to know what we're going to do this week." 

"There's history museum we passed that I think could be interesting." Five input. 

"No!" The others all said in unison. 

"Please, I don't want to learn on vacation. We're supposed to be having fun." Klaus complained.

"I think we should get up early tomorrow morning and watch the sunrise." Luther suggested.

"No offense, Luther, but no one wants to wake up early on vacation." Allison said. "But we should go swimming tomorrow."

Luther folded in on himself, subconsciously hiding his body. Allison noticed. "You don't have to come with us." She quiet enough so only he could hear her. 

He shook his head. "No, I want to. I'll be okay. I just have to get used to it, that's all." She placed a hand on his arm.

"We do need to go grocery shopping tomorrow, since _someone_ ate all our snacks in the car on the way here." Diego eyed Klaus.

"What?! I'm a growing boy, Di. I need to feed my energy." Klaus folded his arms over his chest. 

"You're thirty years old." Diego argued. Klaus huffed, digging back into his dinner, which consisted of waffles and pancakes. Yes, he insisted on both and couldn't decide between the two.

"If we put together a shopping list, Allison and I can run out tomorrow." Vanya looked at Allison to back her up.

"Yeah, of course. We can have some sister bonding time." She nudged Vanya's arm. 

"Would you mind finding some decent coffee?" Five interrupted.

"Well, you tell us what you want. You're the coffee connoisseur of the family. We can't read your mind, Five." Vanya said. Vanya only felt comfortable standing up to Five because they were best friends when they were kids. That is, before Five disappeared. It crushed her. 

The seven of them went back to the cabin and made up a shopping list. It was very long, as expected, since everyone had different tastes and no one could agree on anything. Allison didn't mind much, though. _We're on vacation_, Allison thought, _it's only one week_. 

Afterward, everyone went to their rooms. Luther went right to sleep, eager to get up and watch the sunrise the next morning. Diego flip flopped on the uncomfortable futon in the living room, still refusing to sleep on the spare bed in Luther's room. Allison and Vanya talked a little while longer. Allison painted Vanya's nails, just like she used to do when they were little. Klaus eventually joined them, asking Allison to do his too. The three of them had a lovely "girls' night", laughing until the early hours of the morning and reminiscing about what they got up to when Hargreeves wasn't looking. Five read a book, like, a whole book overnight. He didn't sleep much ever. It was something about time and space. He tried explaining it to the others in the car, but no one understood or cared. Ben joined Allison and Vanya along with Klaus, Klaus having to translate for him all night, not that he wasn't used to it. 

Klaus and Ben went back to Klaus's room around two in the morning. He fell asleep almost immediately, as the house was dead silent, something that was new for him. Klaus guessed that the country just had less ghosts than the city did. He thought about moving out here when he was able enough to do so by himself. Ben wandered the house all night, not having to sleep. He liked watching Klaus sleep, but not in a creepy way. He liked seeing Klaus breathe because of all the times he saw Klaus not breathing. He liked seeing his brother finally have a restful sleep after the years of nightmares he got. Ben would like to have someone in the afterlife to hang out with, but he knew Klaus had so much more to live for. Now that Dave was gone, Klaus would just have to find a new purpose.


	2. Tuesday

It was around 9:30 in the morning when Allison woke up to the sound of a car door closing outside. Concerned, she woke up Vanya so she wouldn't have to go investigate by herself. They both crept down the stairs just as someone walked in the front door of the cabin. Allison, being the mother figure she was, shielded Vanya behind her and peered around the corner. 

"Luther? What are you doing?" Allison called out from the stairs and made her way towards the kitchen. 

"I woke up early to watch the sunrise like I said last night. I thought I'd go out and pick up everyone breakfast. I got you a cappuccino, just how you like it. Vanya, I wasn't sure so I just got black. And there're creamers and sugar in the bag." Luther nodded toward the bag he left on the counter. Allison took a sip of her coffee and thanked him. Vanya opened the bag and poured in two little cups of creamer and a few packets of sugar. Allison made her way back to their shared room to get ready for the day.

"Luther," Vanya started, "thank you for trying. I know it's kind of awkward between us right now, and I acknowledge that you're trying. So, thanks." She smiled shyly at him and Luther smiled in return. 

"You know I'm sorry for... what I did. I don't know how I can make it right, but I figure acting like a real brother is a start." He glanced around the room. Luther was never good at talking about his feelings.

"It is." An uncomfortable silence followed. It would take time for them to get back to normal. Well, actually, this was pretty normal for their relationship before the whole apocalypse thing. It was even more difficult because they were basically trying to build a new relationship. This was uncharted territory. "Well, I'll go wake the others." Vanya put her coffee down on the counter and went into the living room to wake up Diego.

She shook his shoulder. "Diego, it's time to get up. Luther bought breakfast." Diego opened his eyes and sat up, fully alert. He pulled the blanket off of him. Vanya noticed he was wearing his vigilante harness. Maybe Allison was right that he wore that thing in the shower too. He strutted into the kitchen, picking up his coffee, drinking it black. eyeing Luther. Diego didn't trust anyone, let alone Number One, the sibling he secretly envied. 

Vanya went to Five's room to see he had finally gone to sleep. She decided to leave him alone, since he never slept for more than a few hours. He would only start an argument or get annoyed at someone downstairs anyway. Vanya figured she'd try to keep the peace as long as she could. This was going to be a fun vacation whether Five liked it or not.

Vanya went back upstairs to the end of the hall and knocked on Klaus's door. She put her ear up to the door but heard nothing. "Klaus? Are you awake?" Still, nothing. She opened the door slowly, as not to catch him off guard in case he was awake. Klaus was very sensitive to loud noises and fast motion, having PTSD from the war. She peeked her head inside to see Klaus dead asleep. He had somehow ended up sideways on the bed, one of his pillows over his head, the other on the floor on the other side of the room. Vanya quietly giggled at the sight. She opened the door wider, allowing herself into the room. Vanya crouched down in front of where Klaus's head hung off the side of his bed. She placed her hand on his back to stir him a little. 

"Klaus. It's time to wake up." He didn't so much as twitch. "Luther brought coffee and donuts."

Klaus shot his head up to look at her. "Donuts?" He rolled onto the floor and sat up. Klaus wiped off the stream of drool he had accumulating on his cheek. 

"Yeah, come on." Vanya held her hands out, offering to pull Klaus up. He took them, and kept a hold of her, bringing her downstairs with him. This would've been unusual for anyone else in the family to do. But Klaus was Klaus. He was more touchy-feely than the other siblings. And especially as of late, he could use a hug or two. Vanya was more than willing to help out. She also had some trauma she had to process, and hugs always made her feel better. Although, being Vanya, she definitely downgraded her own trauma, saying that it wasn't as bad as Klaus's after he briefly told her what actually happened to him in Vietnam. He thought she was being ridiculous. Klaus tried over and over to convince Vanya that she was valid.

Klaus and Vanya had gotten really close lately, using each other as personal therapists. Vanya tried to get Klaus to go to actual therapy with her. She promised that she would stay in the room with him if he didn't want to be alone his first few visits. He was hesitant to talk about his problems, being that they were so obscure and the therapist might think he was insane and send him back to a mental hospital, where he had spent a couple weeks after getting clean the first time. He got caught talking to Ben while coming down from some coke that was laced with something---he didn't remember--that constituted an ER visit. The nurse reported him to the orderlies and he was sent to the psych ward for three weeks where they kept him for observation. He did his best to suppress the urge to usher the ghosts away and got out eventually. Going back there was his biggest fear. Vanya promised this wouldn't happen, that her therapist knew about the family's history and Klaus's powers. The stories Vanya told her could be considered crazier than Klaus time traveling and serving time in the war. He told her he would think about it.

Klaus put four packets of sugar into his coffee. He grabbed a chocolate-frosted donut out of the bag and brought Vanya back over to the couch. He sat her down at one end and laid across the length of the couch with his head in her lap. He nibbled at his donut. Klaus wasn't much of a breakfast person, but who could pass up donuts?

"You doing okay?" She looked down at him and ran her hand through his hair. Klaus nodded and sighed. He answered her after he swallowed his mouthful of donut.

"I slept through the night for the first time in... I don't know how long. It's still weird not having him sleeping next to me. Not that we could sleep together when we were on duty, but at least I knew he was within arm's reach. Now... you know." He looked up to meet Vanya's eyes. "Do you miss Leonard?"

"We're not talking about me right now. I'm okay, but you don't seem to be. You know I worry about you."

Allison overheard their conversation and wanted to butt in to lighten the mood. She peeked at Klaus over Vanya's shoulder. "Hey, Klaus, Vanya and I are going grocery shopping in a little bit. Do you want to come with us? It'll get you out of the house for a little while."

"I don't know." Klaus replied. "I'm kinda good here."

"You can pick out whatever snacks you want." Allison added.

"Deal." Klaus went back to his room to get dressed. He put on a loose-fitting, low cut, flowy black tank top, some tight capri leggings, his army jacket with the cutoff sleeves, and his black converse. Of course, he always had on Dave's dog tags. They never left his neck. Klaus applied some fresh eyeliner on his top and bottom eyelids, smudging it out with the tip of his finger. He brushed his teeth, messed with his hair until it looked somewhat presentable, and came back downstairs with a newfound confidence. Klaus always felt good about himself when he put on a new outfit. He brought plenty to choose from in his multiple suitcases, so the possibilities were endless. 

Allison, Vanya, and Klaus made their way to the van and headed out to the grocery store, shopping list in hand. Meanwhile, Five had just woken up to the smell of coffee looming upstairs and went to get himself some. 

"Look who decided to join the living." Diego taunted.

"That sounds like a line Klaus would say." Five replied. He went to go back to his room but Luther stopped him. "Where are you going?"

"Back to my room. You guys may want to spend some time together as a part of vacation, but my idea of vacation constitutes complete silence and solitude. Except for Dolores. But even then, we need a break from each other sometimes. See ya." Five went back to his room, slamming the door behind him. This left Diego and Luther alone together. Not a good mix. 

"I'm gonna take a walk around the block, scope out the place." Diego said as he walked towards the back door.

"You can never just stop and take a break from--whatever it is you do--do you?" 

"What's that supposed to mean? You're one to talk. You're always acting like our fearless leader even though you're not much of one. What does that make you?" Diego raised his eyebrows at Luther, who was trying to suppress his anger. He didn't like to admit it, but sometimes Diego really got under his skin. 

"You know, I've been trying to be civil lately. And you're not making it easy." Luther cleared his throat waiting for Diego's reply. 

"I-I just... after m-mom shut down, it's just b-been hard t-to deal." Diego fought through his words. He didn't want to admit to weakness in front of Luther, whom he secretly envied as being Number One. "You have it easy. You've got Allison, as creepy as your connection may be sometimes."

"Aren't you and Klaus close?" 

"We are, but he's got his own shit to deal with. Not that you've noticed, though." Diego walked out of the house and started down the street desperate to go anywhere else.

Back at the grocery store, Klaus was sat in the basket of the shopping cart while Allison pushed him. Vanya followed suit, keeping track of the list and crossing things off as they went. They started with the snack aisle. Klaus pulled things off the shelves left and right, throwing them next to him in the cart. Allison moved the cart to the middle of the aisle so he couldn't reach anything.

"Hey! You said I could pick out whatever snacks I wanted!" Klaus protested.

"You've got enough cookies in here to feed an army." Klaus shuddered at the reference. "Sorry. But maybe we should pick out some real food to go with the snacks. What do you normally eat for breakfast?"

"Well, Ben and I usually eat eggs and bacon, but I'm trying to cut down on my pig products. Lately we've been having waffles. Can we get a waffle maker?" Klaus looked over to his left where Ben was standing. Ben gave him a look.

"We're not buying a waffle maker for the cabin. It'll be too big to pack into the van when we leave next weekend." Klaus frowned. "You can have frozen waffles."

"We should get a loaf of bread so we can make sandwiches for lunch. They're easy to make. Even Klaus can make his own sandwich." Vanya joked.

"I would take offense to that, but I do love a good sandwich." He beamed at his sister. "What else have we got in the list, Van?"

"Milk, eggs, some good coffee for Five, and something for dinner tonight." She relayed off the list.

"We should have a barbecue tonight. There's a grill out back and Luther can man the grill. It'll give him something to do while we go swimming in the ocean." Allison suggested.

"Great idea! That'll give Diego something to do with his knives. He's been itching to use them since we got here. I think he's addicted to knives, and trust me, I know what it is to be an addict." Just then, a woman walked by with her small child. She ushered past them quickly and over into the next aisle. "Oops." Klaus chuckled at his own sick joke.

They went up and down each aisle, Vanya checking things off the list, and Klaus secretly chucking more things into the basket when Allison wasn't looking. They got enough food for all three meals, snacks, desserts, and anything else they could think of for the next six days they'd be staying at the cabin. Vanya enjoyed having some time alone with the three siblings she liked best, no offense to Luther and Diego, but you know. Allison enjoyed getting out of the cabin and doing something other than just sitting around wondering what they were gonna do next. Klaus enjoyed the distraction from his negative thoughts. He had been getting better lately, but he still had a ways to go before he could truly be happy again. He'd never thought he'd say it but fighting in Vietnam with Dave was one of the best times of his life. 

Klaus tried the night before to try and conjure Dave when he went to his own room after having a girls' night with Vanya and Allison. He sent Ben around the ghost world, trying to look for him. He didn't find anything either. Ben thought that maybe Klaus should try conjuring any one ghost before trying to conjure someone specific, but Klaus only managed to bring forth one or two that he didn't even know personally. He didn't personally know many dead people to practice on, and he certainly did not want to practice using Hargreeves. He'd heard enough from him that one time Klaus died and had a chat with dear old dad just days before the supposed end of the world. Klaus gave up after maybe an hour of concentrating and failing. He'd try again tonight. 

They drove back home in a comfortable silence, Klaus occasionally answering something Ben said and relaying it to the others. Ben mainly told Klaus to give conjuring Dave a break for his own well-being. He was on a vacation. Conjuring Dave made Klaus feel such a way that Ben didn't like to see for his brother. He told Klaus that it would be best for him to wait until they got home so he could enjoy his vacation. If Allison and Vanya could hear what Ben told him, they would agree. 

Allison called Luther out to the car. He brought all the groceries in in one trip. "So, he really can be useful sometimes." Diego said. He was just now coming back from his walk around the neighborhood. 

"Do you really have to do this today?" Allison asked.

"No, you're right. Luther and I talked this morning after you guys left. I've decided I'm gonna try and be civil. But no promises." 

Everyone went off to do their own things the rest of the afternoon. Luther read an astronomy book in his room. Diego had recently taken up whittling and carved some figures out of driftwood he collected from the beach. Allison checked all of her social media and answered some emails. Klaus went back down to the beach to watch the waves and the seagulls. Five never came out of his room. He was working on some new equations, though no one knew what for. Ben stayed by Klaus's side, occasionally prompting a conversation that died quickly. Vanya practiced her violin, learning some new songs to keep up with the rest of her orchestra for when she got back.

Around five o'clock, Vanya rounded everyone up to go to the beach and get some swimming in before they had dinner. Five wasn't much of a swimmer, but he compromised with Vanya enough that he brought his notebooks to the beach with him. He didn't take off his suit, though. It was kind of his uniform. Luther tried to be more comfortable in his skin, but it was still tough. He did put on a bathing suit so he could go in the water along with everyone else, but he wore a long sleeves shirt on top. Diego was surprisingly wearing real people clothes. Allison and Vanya were wearing matching bathing suits that Allison picked out before they left. Klaus was wearing some short (maybe a little too short for a family function) swimming trunks and a crop top. 

Klaus sat back in his spot just at the edge of the waves. He had made kind of a hole in the sand where he sat for so long this afternoon. The waves had taken the sand around him with it as the tide went out, leaving a ditch that he called his spot, where no one else was allowed to sit. Diego came up and sat beside him. Klaus noticed Diego's changed attire. "You're not wearing your... I thought Allison said... Never mind."

"What? What did Allison say?" Diego asked defensively.

"I probably shouldn't say." 

"No, tell me." Klaus eyed Diego deviously. "I promise I won't get mad. At you."

"Well, a long time ago, when everyone came back home for dad's funeral, I was in dad's office with Allison when Luther walked in. He caught me stealing some stuff from the office and..." Diego told him to end the story quicker. "Anyway, I overheard them talking about you and Luther asked if you ever took your harness off. Allison said that you probably never took it off even just to shower. And honestly, I agreed. At least, until now." 

"That's just great." Diego got up to leave but Klaus pulled him back down.

"Please stay." Klaus looked at his brother with pleading eyes.

They sat quietly together for a few minutes until Diego spoke up. "You need to let go of Dave. It's not healthy to hang on to him like this for so long. You don't know what it's doing to your head."

"Easy for you to say. You've never been in love like that." 

Diego sighed. "I loved Patch. And now she's gone too. And I've learned to live without her. I'm doing okay. You're not." There was a long pause. "You know, I'm not good at t-talking about my feelings. But I do know that you need to find something else to put your energy into."

"I've been trying to conjure him. I tried again last night. Didn't work. I thought maybe since it's so quiet out here, I mean that there aren't as many ghosts as there are at home. I thought I'd be able to concentrate more, you know, feel his presence better. I got nothing. A small part of me maybe thinks that he somehow survived the war, and I came back to this year before I got the full story, and that he's out there somewhere, seventy years old now. And then another part of me thinks that I'm not strong enough to do it. Maybe Dad was right, and I shouldn't have resisted so hard when he was training me."

"Hey, don't say that. Klaus, you're the strongest person I know. All the shit you've been through? I couldn't do all that and then still have the courage to wake up every morning. If I were you, I'd still be an addict, and I'm proud that you haven't gone back down that route."

"Sometimes I want to, though. I still know where my old dealers hang out, and how easy it would be to go back to them." Klaus admits.

"And I'm glad that you haven't. If anything, be proud of yourself for at least that." Diego claps his brother on the shoulder. "Why don't we go have some fun? Join the family?"

"I'm shocked that you of all people call joining the rest of the family 'fun.'" Klaus smiles for the first time in a while that day. "Alright, let's go."

The Hargreeves, except for Five, of course, splash around together in the water. Diego shows off his breath-holding skills by attempting to drown Luther at least once, but jokingly, he says. Allison and Vanya stay at one end of the beach, as not to get splashed by the boys. Klaus joins them sooner than later, feeling like one of the girls more than one of the boys. Diego and Luther need to let off some steam by rough housing each other. Maybe then they'll feel better and calm down. 

An hour or so later, Luther lights up the grill. Diego uses his knife prowess to cut up some of the meat hibachi-style. They actually start to get along while they grill together. The others are very surprised at this revelation. It's obvious the two of them will never become best friends, but this is definitely an advancement. Klaus helps Vanya cook the sides in the kitchen. He's not a great cook, but he is a good assistant. Allison and Five set up the picnic table outside, putting out the dishes and silverware, and bringing the food to the table as it's ready.

They have a nice meal, telling each other about what they did that day. Five tries to explain what his new equation is about. He's reading a book on the possibility of time travel to people without powers. There's a theory in it that made him think about going back in time, which is supposedly more difficult to do than going forward. He wouldn't really know though; he's only done each once. Anyway, the author of the book hypothesized that going back in time should be just as easy as going forward. This made Five think about how Hargreeves told him once during training that it was absolutely impossible to go backwards. Obviously, he was wrong, because Five came back from apocalyptic times to stop the apocalypse. This got Five thinking that maybe he should adjust his equations in regard to going backwards. Five explained this in a much more complicated manner. No one really understood, but they tried to be supportive.

"Just please be careful, Five. You know what happened the last time you time traveled by yourself." Vanya warned. "We just don't want to lose you again."

"I know. I'm going to be more careful this time." He reassured her. He knew how devastated she was when he got lost the first time. He felt the same way, but being the hardass he was now, he'd never admit it, even to her. 

"How'd you even learn about all this differential stuff? Dad never taught us that, and I know it wasn't a part of your training." Luther spoke up for the first time since sitting down to eat.

"When you're stuck in the apocalypse, you tend to have a lot of free time on your hands. Jumping anywhere in time is easy. It's pinpointing exactly where I'm gonna land that's the hard part. That's where the equations come in. If I had a briefcase, I wouldn't have to do the equations." The mention of the briefcase peaked Klaus's interest.

"How do those briefcases work? Like Hazel and Cha Cha were stationed in 2019 New York, and that was their only mission. So then, why when I opened _their_ briefcase did it take me to 1968 Vietnam?" 

"I honestly don't know." Five said nonchalantly.

"Well, how _do_ we get a briefcase? Could you make it go wherever and whenever you want?" 

Five catches on to what Klaus is getting at. "Klaus, you can't go back to Vietnam and rescue Dave. That would alter too much of the timeline and I'd have the Commission back on my tail."

"Why the hell not? You came back from the future to stop the damn apocalypse, and I can't go back to save the one person I love? That's bullshit!" Klaus got up from the table and stomped back to his room. 

"Nice job, Five." Diego said sarcastically. 


	3. Wednesday

The Hargreeves had a lazy morning. They laid around the living room of the cabin in silence, not knowing what they were going to do that day. Allison usually had something planned. Right now, she was researching things to do nearby. Diego was whittling away at a new project. Luther read his book about the moon, while Five continued his book about the possibilities of scientific time travel. Klaus practiced making Ben visible to the others. He flickered in every so often, but Klaus still had a ways to go before Ben would be able to have the long conversation he wanted with his siblings. Vanya entertained everyone with her violin playing. 

"It sounds good Van-" Ben said, before disappearing again. Klaus had trouble focusing on the task at hand. His mind was elsewhere, on Dave, of course. 

"Shit! This is ridiculous!" Klaus exclaimed. He sat up from his position on the floor and went into the kitchen to get another cup of coffee. When he returned, Vanya stopped playing to console him. 

"It's not your fault, Klaus. You just need more practice. You haven't used your powers most of your adult life, so it's gonna be harder for you to get used to them now. But you will eventually. You just need to relax and clear your head." She gave him a much-needed hug

"I know, I know. It's just frustrating, you know?" He was still holding onto her. "It sucks that I don't know how to use my powers properly even though they're a part of me. I didn't even ask for them."

"Hey, none of us asked for this life. We're just living it." Five spoke up without taking his eyes off of his book. 

"Yeah, yeah whatever." Klaus waved his hand, dismissing Five. He sulked over to the couch, lopping himself down next to Allison. He looked over at her phone to see what kind of activities she was planning for them to do that day. "Oh! An amusement park! We have to go!"

"It does sound fun for all of us to go out and do something exciting." She leaned in and whispered so that only Klaus could hear her. "Are you sure you're going to be okay? I mean, PTSD and all?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean there's going to be lot of flashing lights and loud noises and so many people. It might be a little overwhelming for you. You haven't dealt with a lot if situations like that yet. I just don't want to ruin your vacation." Allison explained.

"I think I can handle myself." She gave him a look. "I haven't been so bad lately. And there's like, no ghosts out here. I should be good to go. If it gets to be too much, I promise I'll say something, okay?" Klaus raised his eyebrows expectantly. Allison nodded. 

"Okay, guys, we're going to the amusement park this evening. We're leaving here at six o'clock. And Five, you're coming with us." She glared at him to make sure he got the message.

"Fine." He growled. He popped out of the room, reappearing in his own bedroom of the cabin to savor the last few hours of alone time he had left. Five would never tell any of his siblings this, but he secretly liked doing things with his family. Whether they went out somewhere, or they were just staying home sitting in the same room, it didn't matter. As long as they were together. He missed them after being alone in the apocalypse so long. He got used to the loneliness, so being in their company for too long did get on his nerves, but deep down he did love them.

They all made lunch and spent the afternoon resting before their night out. Luther read his book and worked on a model plane set he brought along with him. Diego took a nap and continued his whittling project, keeping it away from Vanya. Leonard had the same hobby, and he didn't want to bring up any of her bad memories. Allison was on her phone, still checking emails and managing her various social media accounts. She could never truly have a day off from work. Klaus gave up on trying to materialize Ben and sat back in his spot on the beach, remembering to put sunscreen everywhere this time. As mentioned before, Five spent some quiet time in his room. He moved onto another book about travel through different dimensions, wondering whether that was a line he was willing to cross, given how his time travel escapades had gone. Probably not, but it was interesting, anyway. Ben hung around the house, watching his living siblings do their thing. He sat with Vanya for a while while she practiced her violin. He didn't think she knew he was there, but he enjoyed the company, nonetheless. Vanya kept trying to catch up with her orchestra. She was first chair still, and while they hadn't entirely allowed her to go away on vacation, she took it upon herself anyway. She needed it more than anyone. She didn't want to come back to them completely clueless, so she practiced by herself so she wouldn't be left totally behind.

Around five o'clock, Klaus came in from the beach to wash the sand and sunscreen off himself. He got out a new outfit from his suitcase: his leather lace-up pants, a loose-fitting band t-shirt with the sleeves cut off, and his usual army vest. He didn't care that it didn't match many of his outfits. He made it work whether he was successful in his attempts or not. He never took that thing off. 

Klaus peeled off his tight clothes that stuck to him with sweat from being out in the heat for so long. It probably wasn't good being outside in eighty-five-degree weather and the hot sun for as long as he was, but what more damage could he do to his body that the drugs hadn't already done? He'd live. And if not, he'd just die and probably end up coming back because God still didn't like him. But we're not gonna get into that right now. Anyway, he turned the water on cool to soothe his hot skin. He shampooed his hair and washed his body like usual. He stood under the water for a while, just thinking about things. He'd been doing a lot of thinking lately, now that it was quiet enough for Klaus to hear himself. Maybe he'd have to give up on finding Dave. It obviously wasn't going so well with a ghost that was right here, so how was he supposed to conjure Dave when he didn't even know where he was? Or maybe he had to try harder. Clear his mind, focus all his energy on this one thing. Klaus was conflicted. He couldn't exactly talk to his siblings about this problem; they'd never understand. And Ben was no use. He always told Klaus to just calm down and focus and keep trying. Maybe that gentle push wasn't what Klaus needed. He needed a slap in the face. A wake-up call. Something to really motivate him one direction or another. And he didn't see that coming any time soon.

Klaus turned off the water and toweled himself off. He gelled up his hair and styled it in its usual "freshly-done but looks like you slept in it" kinda look. He put on his new outfit, adding a little pep to his step. He freshened up his eyeliner, wiping off the old makeup that ran down his face when he put it under the stream of water from the shower. When he walked out of the bathroom, the others were just about ready to go. 

"Alright, everyone's here. I've got cash for tickets and dinner, car keys..." Allison said to herself as she tried to organize everything. Sometimes it was tiring being the "mother" of this group. How did Grace do it all those years?

"Everything's gonna be fine. We're all adults. We can handle ourselves. You don't have to micromanage us." Luther jokingly reassured her. 

"You know you're talking about your siblings, right? I absolutely have to micromanage them. You included, sometimes." She patted his cheek and walked past him. "Okay, everybody in the car! We're leaving now!"

Allison popped into the driver's seat, Luther in the passenger seat next to her. He felt like he was squishing whoever sat next to him in the back, so he assigned himself a new seat for everyone's sake.

Vanya and Diego got stuck in the middle row together. Their relationship was still a little rocky. He always had a soft spot for her when they were younger, but that quickly went away when she published her book. She described him in it basically as a cold, heartless soldier of Reginald--somewhat like Luther, but different in a way she didn't really go too into detail on--and it made Diego feel betrayed. He thought that she thought better of him. He guessed not. Vanya did skew her childhood memories in her twisted ways, though. She misremembered things they did as children to victimize herself more. They all knew it, though no one ever mentioned it.

Klaus and Five were in the back row, Ben wedged between them, not physically but in spirit. Klaus squished himself over to the far side of the seat to give Ben some more room. Klaus didn't like converging himself with Ben's ghostly form. It just felt weird and kind of cold. Five didn't even notice. He still had his nose in his book that Allison made him leave in the car when they got to the amusement park.

The sun was starting to set as they pulled in the parking lot. The rides turned their lights on to accommodate the darkness, lighting up the whole sky with bright neon greens and pinks and oranges. They all hopped out of the car. Klaus pulled his vest around him a little tighter. The air had chilled in the 45 minutes from when they left the house. The wind picked up cold air from the sea just a few blocks away, bringing the smell of salt with it. 

Allison checked one more time to make sure she had everything she needed in her purse. Luther had to reassure her once again that everything was fine and that she just needed to relax. "It's your vacation, too." He reminded her. She led the way to the ticket booth, getting enough for all of them to go on plenty of rides and games they wanted. Klaus first ran to the tilt-a-whirl, the others following suit. Luther waited by the exit for them, not wanting to crush anyone when the rides twirled around a certain way, pushing his exceptionally large body against theirs with the centrifugal force. 

A few of them rode the big rollercoasters, Vanya and Five not being big fans of them. They sat on some benches across the way, hearing the screams of their siblings as the cart came back around to the start. Vanya smiled. It was nice to see her family happy together for once. Five felt the same way, but his face unchanged from its hard exterior. He broke a little smile when he saw Klaus's and Diego's hair wind swept from the speed of the ride. 

After they got some of the big rides out of the way, they all sat down for dinner. It was a "get anything you want no matter if it's real food or not" kind of night. Luther had four hot dogs and a big bucket of french fries. Diego had two slices of pizza and stole some of Luther's fries just because. Allison tried to stick with something light and had a bag of cotton candy. What? It's her vacation, too. Klaus had a few fried candy bars before Vanya made him stop before he got himself sick. He did overdo it anyway and had to sit out the next few rides until he didn't feel like he was going to throw up anymore. Five also had some pizza. Vanya got a soft-serve vanilla ice cream cone with rainbow sprinkles. 

They played some of those overly expensive carnival games: dart throwing, ring toss, etc. Klaus tried desperately to win a giant teddy bear, but fifty bucks later, he came home with nothing. Luther noticed his disappointment. When Klaus walked away from his game of throwing a ball at milk bottles, Luther stepped in like the big brother he thought himself to be. He didn't have great aim, but he made up for it in strength. He knocked all of the bottles down without so much as blinking, and picked out the biggest, brightest colored bear the stand had.

"Hey, Klaus!" Luther called after his brother. "Look what I got!"

"Oh, no fair! That's the one I wanted! You cheated. You're a lot stronger than I am. That game is unwinnable."

"No, I..." Luther stopped himself, confused at Klaus's rambling. "I won this _for_ you." He handed the bear over. It looked somewhat large in Luther's already big hands, but compared to Klaus, it was massive. 

"Thanks, big bro! I didn't know you had it in you!" Klaus jogged after the others to show them his new toy. Luther was left to think what Klaus meant by that. Did Klaus not think that Luther could be a good brother? By what he just said, Luther guessed not. It hurt him, but it kind of made sense. Luther wasn't the warmest of the Hargreeves, but he didn't think he was the coldest either. Everyone knew that that was Five's job. 

They all piled back into the car, Klaus shoving his bear into the trunk to Ben could sit in the back with him. The ride home was quiet. Everyone wore themselves out, and Klaus was still coming down from his sugar high. It was the only high he's had in almost a year. Still didn't compare to the real thing, but he wasn't going to think about that. He was finally having a good enough day. Five fell asleep, even though he didn't run around like the rest of them, being the old man he still technically was. He leaned over on Klaus's shoulder without realizing. Klaus let him stay there until they got home and he had to wake him up. Five acted like nothing happened.

Klaus snuck into Vanya's and Allison's room when he thought the others were asleep. "Hey, you guys, would you mind if I stayed in here tonight? I'm having a good day for once, and I know that'll be all ruined if I'm left by myself." He explained.

"Isn't Ben here to keep an eye on you?" Allison asked, not meaning anything bad by it, and Klaus knew that.

"Yeah, but he's not, like, here. Do you know what I mean?"

"Of course, you can stay with us, Klaus. It'll be like a sleepover." Vanya scooted over in her bed to make room for him and patted the spot next to her. Klaus sat down on the bed, arranging his pillow and his side of the blanket to his liking. When he finally settled in, Vanya asked him about his feelings about recent events.

"How's trying to conjure Dave going?" She asked carefully.

"Not great. I can't even materialize Ben. And even if I wanted to conjure another ghost, Dave or not Dave, I can't seem to..." he paused, thinking, "clear my mind, I guess? I just feel too distracted by other things, even though this is the quietest place I've been to in a long time without having to be high." He felt the tension in the room shift at the mention of his past drug use.

"Not that I'm ever going back to that. You guys know that, right?" Allison didn't respond. Vanya stepped in for her before she took too long to answer and made it look like neither of them trusted Klaus to stay clean. 

"We do. We'll support you through no matter what. Neither of us want you to slip up, but if you do, we'll be here to help you through it again." Vanya said.

"No. This time is different. Last time was _the_ last time. Never again. No matter how bad the ghosts get, to how bad my cravings get, you can't let me go back there." Klaus looked at her with pleading eyes. She just nodded. Vanya never saw Klaus like this. He knew himself that he would get bad again eventually. Nothing in his life was ever perfect. He couldn't have one good thing last so long. He did know, however, that he would never actually take drugs again, no matter how bad he wanted it. He would stay away, even if he had to tie himself up in the attic again. He told Diego this a long time ago, when he was recently clean. Diego wholeheartedly agreed to tie his brother up again, slightly enjoying it the last time, maybe a little too much.

"We promise we won't let that happen." Allison spoke up. She never knew how to go about talking about Klaus's past, not really being there for much of it. She chose to distance herself a long time ago from the Umbrella Academy, but at the cost of her only family, whether they were biological or not. Klaus didn't blame her. They all did the same thing in their own ways, only really becoming close to one another--although not everyone--in the last couple of months. Allison felt like she was the only guilty one because she felt guilty about everything she did. Her powers--or misuse of them--instilled that in her, and it was one thing she couldn't rid herself of. 

"Thanks, guys. Goodnight." Klaus turned the light off and snuggled into the covers, Vanya lying still next to him. 


	4. Thursday

Klaus woke up early the next morning. Vanya was curled up on her side, still next to him in her bed, most of the covers pulled over with her. He didn't mind. It was her bed, after all.

The sky was still dark. There was the soft patter of steady rain on the cabin roof. Klaus guessed it was around five in the morning. Even though he had been clean for a long time now (maybe not a long time according to everyone else, but this was the longest he's ever been clean) he still wasn't used to sleeping a lot. The drugs used to keep him awake, along with the homelessness. The only time Klaus ever got a good night's sleep was when he spent the night in the hospital after overdosing or when he blacked out drunk on a park bench somewhere. His body got used to being awake for hours on end, learning to survive and be functional on little sleep. Some things never change.

He slid off the other side of Vanya's bed trying not to stir her, and crept across the creaky floorboards, not wanting to wake Allison either. He tiptoed downstairs to the kitchen to make himself a cup of coffee. If he was going to be awake at this hour, he didn't want to be groggy and sleepy, too. He looked at the clock: 4:56. Klaus forgot Diego was sleeping on the couch downstairs after he had made his coffee. Diego was a very light sleeper, always on high alert. He jumped off the couch, fully awake and ready to fight whoever or whatever the potential threat was. Klaus quickly calmed him down and sent him back to sleep. Klaus pulled open the back door to sit on the porch overlooking the ocean. Luther was already out there.

"What are you doing up so early?" Klaus asked provocatively.

"I could ask you the same question." Luther replied, sounding more defensive than he meant to. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that."

"No, no, no, it's all good." Klaus patted him on the shoulder and plopped down on the outdoor couch next to him. "So, what's up, big guy?" He took a sip of his coffee.

"I like to watch the sunrise every morning. It's nice to look at." Luther didn't say much else. He wasn't the chattiest of the Hargreeves. Klaus noted that that was _his_ job. 

"You know, when I was in Vietnam, sometimes Dave and I would stay up talking all night hiding in a Jeep somewhere where no one would see us together. And we'd be up talking so long that we'd eventually see the sunrise, too. Over there, the sky gets so red and orange. The clouds look like cotton candy. And it reflects off the dew on the grass and the trees of the jungle, making everything look like ice or glass." Klaus trailed off at the memory. "But, anyway... do you want some coffee?" He deflected. Klaus didn't like feeling vulnerable in front of anyone, except Dave, of course, but he wasn't here anymore.

"No, thanks. What was Dave like? If you don't mind me asking." Luther bit his lip nervously. He knew Klaus had a bad time toward the ending of his trip, but he didn't know many details, and he didn't want to pry if it was absolutely too painful to talk about. Luther didn't think Klaus would open up to him like he just had. They never were the closest, even when they were little. Luther had been trying to get to know his family, after realizing that he knew far little than he thought. 

Klaus sighed. "Dave was the best. He's the only person I ever truly loved." The rain poured harder now. "He was a simple, Midwestern, Jewish boy. He took a lot of pride in his work, both at home and on the field. And he progressed up in the army until he was fighting on the front lines. And somehow, I went with him. I wouldn't do it for just anyone else. But then he got shot... right in the heart. And sometimes I feel like my heart died with his." A single tear rolled down Klaus's face. He wiped at it quickly, taking another sip of his coffee to stifle any more potential tears. He shivered at the cold. Klaus was only wearing a thin tank top and leggings. The cabin had been pretty warm at night, due to the lack of air conditioning, but the rain had significantly cooled it down overnight. The wind was picking up with the rain. Luther took off his overcoat and pulled it around Klaus's shoulders. It was huge on him and swallowed his thin frame. Klaus lay his head on Luther's shoulder for a second as a silent thanks.

They sat quietly together until the sun came up, quickly eclipsed by rain clouds, and long after, making small conversation to pass the time until the others woke up. The rain slowed to a gentle mist. The earth began to warm ever so slightly. Klaus had long finished his coffee. It was around eight o'clock now, when they heard movement coming from inside the house. They went back inside to join the others. "Where have you guys been?" Vanya asked.

"Just sittin' outside, watching the sun and the rain." Klaus shrugged off, standing up. She noticed Klaus wearing Luther's coat. He went upstairs with it, presumably to get dressed. Luther shrugged at her and went upstairs as well. 

"Did you hear anything from them this morning?" Vanya asked Diego, who was the closest to hearing Klaus and Luther when they were outside.

"Not much. I heard Klaus tell him about Dave, but they were quiet most of the time." Diego reported. "I keep telling him that he needs to let Dave go." Diego whispered to just her.

"He needs to talk about it. If he keeps bottling it up, he'll just explode, and you know what'll happen if he does. He just needs time to process it. Klaus had never experienced loss like this before. You know how you felt when you lost Patch and Mom. Imagine that, times five. That's what he's been going through." Vanya walked away, leaving Diego standing there, not having anything to say back.

"I think it's supposed to rain all day. So, what do we do?" Five asked Allison, who had been appointed in charge of the vacation long before they even left the mansion. 

"We could find something to do around here that's indoors. Mini golf, bowling, something like that, right?" 

"No bowling. It didn't go so well last time, and I'd rather not risk it." Five recalled when they were at the bowling alley just before Vanya was supposed to cause the end of the world. Luckily, they found her just in time and Five took them all back in time to a week before it happened, redoing the whole week, sans Leonard. Five told everyone what happened last week--well, his last week--and at first, they didn't believe him. But the longer his story went on, the more they realized that Five couldn't make something like that up. Five told Vanya how Leonard manipulated her, and she cancelled their violin lesson before he even arrived at her apartment for the first time. She began learning how to safely control her powers, and the rest is history. Five was still kind of on the run from the Commission, which is one of the only reasons he agreed to take this vacation, so he could keep moving and throw them off his trail. 

"We could all go shopping?" Allison hollowly suggested, not really meaning it, just thinking of another thing they could do inside, but out of the cabin.

Klaus overheard her as he came back down. His ears pricked up at the word "shopping." "I think that's a fabulous idea!" He clapped his hands. "We should give each other makeovers. Diego and Luther first!"

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Diego asked defensively.

"Diego, brother dear, you know I love you, but you wear the same boring outfit every single day. You could use a new look. You too, Luther. That coat isn't doing much for your figure." 

"Yeah, I'd like that back, by the way." Luther raised his eyebrows at Klaus, who had put on the coat over today's outfit. He was wearing his leather pants with a floral-patterned women's blouse, and his black Converse. 

"I don't know. It really works with my look today." Luther gave him a look. "Fine, fine." He took the coat off and handed it over. "At least let me pick you out something more fashionable at the mall."

"We'll see. Depends on what you pick out. We have very different tastes, you know."

"I know. Yours is soooo boring." Klaus giggled.

"Is everyone okay with going shopping?" Allison addressed the rest of the group. Vanya and Diego agreed. Five hesitant to be a part of any group, as usual, but he could use a new suit, so why the hell not? He was a growing boy.

They all piled into the van, Ben popping up next to Klaus unexpectedly in the back. "Where've you been all morning?" Klaus asked lowly.

"Nowhere. Just... I can't tell you. It's a secret." Ben whispered back, even though he didn't have to.

"Benny, you know we don't keep secrets in this family." Klaus scolded.

"I hope you're being sarcastic." 

Klaus waved his Goodbye hand at Ben and turned away to look out the window. The ride was quiet. The rain made everyone sleepy, save for Klaus who was still wide awake, as usual. Vanya took a little nap on the drive there. Klaus hoped it wasn't because he kept her up all night last night. He asked her about it when they got to the mall and kind of disengaged from the group for a moment to pull her aside. She promised it wasn't that. She said that he was a surprisingly still sleeper, considering. Vanya thought he'd wake her up in the night with nightmares, or screaming, or something of the sort like he used to do when they were kids. He barely shifted all night. This place was doing wonders for his sleeping habits. He never wanted to go home. 

"Why do you think that is?" Vanya asked him, both of them still trailing behind their siblings.

"Why's what?"

"Why it's so much quieter out here for you than anywhere else."

"Van, I've lived my whole life in the city, where tons of people die every day. If you really knew how bad it was, you'd want to move out here, too. It's just-oh, look!" Klaus ran off to window shop, dropping their conversation. Vanya thought about what he said. Maybe it would be a good idea for Klaus to move out of the mansion and leave the city if it was so bad for him. It could do all of them some good. Klaus had a very different perspective on life, one that Vanya wasn't sure she'd want to have. The way Klaus said that so nonchalant, like it was nothing, concerned her. Sure, he had been desensitized by the dead, what with having that power and also being in a war zone for ten months. She wished she could take it all away. If anything, Klaus deserved it the least of all of them, she thought. He was the sweetest, most loving person she knew. He didn't deserve to have to resort to drugs to make himself feel normal, or not feel at all, whichever reason he chose.

At the mall, Luther bought a new coat, with the help of personal stylist, Klaus. It was still big enough to fit his body and cover anything he was insecure about but looked nice on him. And it was different. Change is good, Klaus kept reassuring him. Diego got some new knives, of course. Klaus also made him get a new outfit too. Something with color, because he wore too much black, Klaus said. Diego tried to argue that Klaus used to wear a lot of black as well, but that was before he came back from the war. Klaus told Diego that Dave brought color to his life. Diego inwardly cringed at the sweet comment, not being one for romance. Allison got Claire some cute new outfits to bring back when she went home for her visit. Allison was allowed weekends now, agreeing to go to therapy and work on her relationship with Patrick, whether he still considered it a real relationship after learning of how he got into it. Klaus went ham with Allison's credit card, buying, basically, a whole new wardrobe. He was carrying bags from about six different stores. Allison couldn't say no; Klaus deserved a little bit of joy in his life, and if clothes are what brought that joy, then so be it. What's a little retail therapy? Five bought a new suit, like he set out to. This one was a charcoal grey, different than the light grey one he brought with him. Big difference, right? Ben tagged along, giving Klaus his input on what outfits he liked and didn't. Klaus bought the ones Ben didn't like anyway. Vanya went to the music store and bought a new bow for her violin. This one had stronger hairs. She wasn't a very strong person, but she put a lot of passion into her playing, which caused her a lot of bow hairs to fall out by the end of concerts.

They drove back to the cabin, each happy with their purchases. Allison was about to stop at the grocery store to pick up something to cook for dinner later that night, when Vanya gave her an idea. "Can we get pizza tonight? We haven't had real pizza in a long time."

"Vanya, I knew there was a reason you're my favorite sister." Klaus shouted from the back row. Allison glared jokingly at him from the rear-view mirror. 

"That sounds like a good idea." She pulled out her phone, giving it to Vanya for her to place an order on the local pizza place app. "What does everyone want?"

Everyone shouted out different toppings they all wanted. Luther liked plain because of course he did. Diego's favorite was meat lover's, which was a problem because Allison like the vegetarian pizza. Klaus, being the ever-so-controversial person he was, called for Hawaiian: ham and pineapple. Five liked just pepperoni, and so did Vanya. Allison told Vanya to get one pepperoni and one plain pie.

"Can we get mozzarella sticks too? For your favorite brother?" Klaus begged.

"Why do you think you'd be my favorite brother if I'm not your favorite sister?" Allison challenged him.

"Diego's obviously not your favorite, Five doesn't want to be a part of this family anyway, and I momentarily forgot about Luther." Klaus counted his brothers off on his fingers.

"Hey!" Luther turned around in his seat. "I can be an option for favorite brother."

"Luther, dear, we all know you're Allison's favorite." Klaus winked. Luther turned back to face the front, cheeks turning red.

"What about me?" Ben piped up for the first time since their mall excursion. 

"You can be my favorite brother." Klaus smiled. 

"What was that, Klaus?" Allison asked from the front seat, not fully hearing what Klaus said all the way in the back.

"Oh, I forgot to include Ben, so I told him he can be my favorite brother."

"Gee, thanks." Ben said sarcastically. 

"If you promise to behave, we can get mozzarella sticks." Vanya added it to their order. "Any other requests?"

"Garlic knots?" Five included. 

"Sure, why not?" Allison didn't mind this inclusion. Five never really asked for much.

Vanya placed their order. It would be ready for pickup by the time they drove over there. The rain was pouring cats and dogs at this point. Allison had to slow down drastically so she didn't slide off the side of the road. They passed two or three cars that had pulled over to wait for the rain to stifle, but Allison really wanted that pizza. They got to the pizza place just in time for their order. Now someone had to run inside to go get it. Allison looked between the others. She put the tip of her finger on her nose to indicate that she was "not it". Everyone did the same and looked around to see who was left. Diego was the only one who didn't catch on, making him the one who had to go run out in the rain. He wore leather all the time, today included, so he was least likely to get wet through his clothes. He ran out in the rain, Allison not being courteous enough to drop him off at the door. Klaus was right, he wasn't her favorite brother. Diego paid for their order and brought it back out, dripping wet as he sat back down next to Vanya and Five in the back. He placed the pizza boxes on his lap to warm himself up.

When the Hargreeves got back to the cabin, they all got their slices of pizza and soda from the fridge. Klaus stole all the mozzarella sticks for himself. He knew it'd make him sick later, but they tasted so good right now. Five ate quite a few of the garlic knots, only really sharing them with Vanya, the one sibling he disliked the least. 

They settled down in the living room after dinner, playing games to pass the time before going to bed. They played some board games, but they were getting boring after a while. Five was too good at the strategic games and made it less fun for everyone else. Klaus always cheated at Monopoly, hiding secret money under his leg. Klaus suggested they then play Twister, which no one was up for. So, now they were playing I Spy.

"I spy with my little eye... something big." Five started.

"The house." Vanya guessed. No.

"A tree." Allison guessed. No.

"Your ego." Klaus guessed. No.

"Luther." Diego guessed. Bingo.

"Really? Still with the big jokes?" Luther complained.

"I call 'em like I see 'em." 

"Okay, my turn!" Klaus cheered. "I spy with my little eye..." Just then the power went out, plunging the whole cabin into total darkness.

"I spy with my little eye, absolutely fuck all." 

"Well, I guess that game's over. Goodnight, everyone." Five said, trying to escape to his room. 

"Hold on, I'll go find some candles." Five sunk back down in his place on the floor. Allison used her phone like a flashlight to find her way through the house. She came back with an arm full of candles and a lighter from one of the kitchen drawers. She lit them around the room. The flickering fire cast the living room with a faint orange glow.

"Ooh, we should have a seance!" Klaus exclaimed.

"We have one, and I'm looking at him." Diego joked. Klaus stuck his tongue out at him. When Allison sat back down, Klaus made everyone, Five included, join hands in a circle. 

"Oh, spirits, we ask of you: where's Ben?" Klaus asked in his best dramatic seance leader voice. 

"Okay, if you're gonna ask stupid questions like that, I'm out." Diego protested.

"No, no, no. It'll work. I've been practicing. Just gotta focus." Klaus closed his eyes and focused hard. He was gonna make Ben corporeal in front of the others. He had been secretly practicing in his room at night with Ben for weeks, and he thought he could do it this time, if only for a little while. Klaus's hands started glowing blue in his siblings' hands. In the middle of the circle, Ben's body, also glowing blue, appeared. 

"Hey, guys." He said causally. Everyone stared at him in disbelief. He flickered in and out until he was completely out. 

"Dammit!" Klaus yelled. "I thought I could make it last longer this time." He let go of Diego's and Vanya's hands, and the others followed suit. 

"So, he's actually here." Luther whispered.

"What do you mean? Of course, he's here. Did you think I was lying about being able to talk to Ben?" Klaus interrogated Luther.

"Honestly, for a long time, yeah. I just... didn't know if you were doing it as a coping mechanism, or for attention, or something. But now I know you weren't lying, and I'm sorry." 

"Wow, an apology from Luther. Those are rare." Diego teased. 

"Alright, I think it's time for bed, everyone." Allison announced. Five ran up the stairs back to his room, desperate for some alone time after spending the whole day with other people. Diego made up his couch bed and fell asleep almost instantly. He had a weird talent at that. Luther went to his room, still thinking about Ben. Allison and Vanya went to their room, Klaus joining them just for a little bit. He wanted some time alone too and slept in his own bed that night. He dreamt of him and Dave sitting together in that Jeep, just like he told Luther earlier this morning. If he practiced more, maybe he could make it a reality.


	5. Friday

<strike></strike>It was the last full day of their vacation. Most of them were leaving tomorrow, but Allison was leaving tonight from the nearest airport for her bi-weekly visit with Claire. Allison flew two hours every other weekend to see her daughter and work on an agreement with her soon-to-be ex-husband, Patrick, on what would happen with Claire once their divorce was final. Allison right now didn't have any custody of Claire because of what she did, using her powers on her family to make them do what she wanted, including making Patrick love her. She's been meeting with a therapist and taking some parenting classes during the week in between shootings for her upcoming movie. Allison had a full schedule all day every day, and she really loved being on vacation, but her daughter meant everything to her.

Just as Allison was packing her bag, Luther walked in the doorway of her room. He knocked on the door frame. Allison turned around to see the tall man standing in front of her. The two of them had a weird relationship. They were very close as kids, more so than any of the other siblings. Allison kind of had a crush on Luther, and so did he, but neither of them acted on it because they were supposed to be siblings. Now it was just weird between them.

"Need any help?" Luther offered.

"No, thanks. I'm okay. I can't wait to see Claire. She's gonna love the stuff I picked out for her at the mall yesterday." Allison added Claire's new clothes to one of her many suitcases. 

"I'm sure she will. I'd like to meet her someday."

"I don't know if Patrick would let me, but I was thinking about bringing her home so she can meet her aunt and all of her uncles. It'd be nice, I think." Allison zipped up her bag. Luther went into the room and brought them downstairs for her. They were all heavy, but, as established at the beginning of the trip, Allison was one of the more high maintenance of the Hargreeves, save for Klaus, occasionally. 

"Please don't leave me here with all these boys." Vanya joked to Allison.

"You'll be just fine. Klaus is still here. He's like an honorary third sister." 

Klaus put his hands over his heart. "Aw, I'm so touched." He slung his arm around Vanya's shoulder. "We'll be just fine, Allison. Don't you worry. It'll be like a sleepover, again. We can watch movies, make popcorn, do each other's nails, it'll be great!"

"Does that mean I have to leave my nail polish behind for you?" 

"That would be much appreciated." Klaus made his way over to the back door. The sun was shining again and had dried up all the rain from last night. He dragged his beach chair and umbrella out of the shed back to his spot in the sand. He saw Vanya watching from inside. He waved a bottle of sunscreen at her to reassure her that he didn't forget it. She gave him a thumbs up and turned her attention elsewhere. Klaus covered himself from head to toe in it, his face still peeling from his sun burn earlier in the week. He dug the base of the umbrella into the sand and fixed it so that it covered most of him. He summoned Ben so he wouldn't have to sit out there alone.

"What's up, bro?" Ben asked. Klaus didn't summon Ben much, because Ben was by his side most of the time already. Ben thought he'd give Klaus his alone time since the beach had been nice and quiet. Today, it was too quiet for him. 

"Just want to hang out with my favorite brother." Klaus gave Ben a shit-eating grin, referencing their argument from yesterday. His mood quickly shifted. "It's too quiet out here today. I mean, usually I need some quiet time to myself, but I've had enough for this week, I think."

Ben cut Klaus off, "But isn't it really loud at home now that you're sober? I thought you'd like the quiet out here."

"I did, but something feels wrong about it. Like something's missing. I don't know what that's about. Anyway, where have you been all week? You haven't been bothering me as much as you usually do."

"I wanted to give you some alone time. You looked like you needed it. And... I'm working on something for you. It's a surprise."

"You have to tell me or I'm going to explode." Klaus threatened. 

"I think it'll be worth the wait." Ben sat down in the sand next to his brother. "Don't stay out here too long. You'll get heat stroke."

"I can take care of myself, Benny, but thank you for worrying." Klaus made Ben corporeal enough so he could pat him on the head. Ben would never get used to being touched. He'd gone almost thirteen years, stuck as a ghost, unable to talk to anyone except Klaus the whole time. Now Klaus can materialize him and make him corporeal long enough to say hi to his siblings, he couldn't ask for more. Except, maybe, coming back to life, but that was probably a long shot anyway. He'd take what he could get.

Back inside, Diego was playing with his new knives. He sharpened the blades because they never make them sharp enough, he said. He took them outside to target practice at a tree. He threw the first knife, sticking it exactly where he wanted it to go. He didn't have to curve it with his powers so much. It was nice and balanced. He threw the rest of them, some of them sharper and more balanced than others. He made note of which ones needed to be sharpened again or balanced, and he would fix them with his tools when they all got back to the mansion.

Diego didn't like to call it "going home" anymore. It only felt like a home because Grace was always there to greet him, and now she wasn't. He decided to turn her off, not telling the others that it was him who did it. They all assumed that it was Hazel and Cha Cha when they stormed the mansion in search of Five. Her hardware was deteriorating rapidly. She was misremembering events, forgetting whole days, even sewing through her arm as she finished her cross stitch. Pogo made mention of fixing her and updating her software so that she was fully functional again. Diego was torn. He, of course, loved his mother, even though she was technically just their nanny. She felt like she was his real mom, and she treated him like he was her own son. They had a special bond when he was a kid that he never felt with any other adults. On the other hand, he thought maybe it was time to let her go. He didn't need his mommy to take care of him anymore. And now that most everyone was out of the house, she had no one to take care of, which she was programmed to do. What would she do with herself all alone in that big, empty house? What did she do when they all left when they were teenagers? Maybe she went a little nuts and that's why she started to break down.

He also missed Patch. It was worse finding her body than being notified about her death. He never wanted to see her like that. Diego also know that it was his own fault that she got shot. It was him who told her that she should come out in the streets to take down bad guys with him. It was him who didn't show up when she called. And it was him who should've been in her place. He wished that he could've traded places with her. Or at least that his boss, Al, would have given him the message in time for him to meet her before she approached Hazel and Cha Cha's motel room. He could've curved the bullet away from Patch, redirected it at Cha Cha, and all of this would have been over. Hazel could go off with Agnes and do what he liked, and Patch would still be here. That's what he thought, anyway. 

"You okay?" Diego heard a small voice from behind him. He drew back him arm, ready to spring on whoever it was behind him. Noticing it was just Vanya, he put it back down at his side. "Don't worry, I'm not going to attack you."

"Sorry, force of habit." He looked her up and down. "What are you doing out here?"

"Checking up on you. You seem distant today." She scanned his face, trying to figure out what exactly it is that he was feeling. Nothing, that she could tell. Diego was stone cold, at least from the outside.

"I've just...been thinking about some th-things." He cursed under his breath. He didn't like stuttering or feeling vulnerable in front of the others. He liked to keep up his facade, trying to seem the strongest sibling, like the Number One he never would be. 

"Is it-is it about her?" Vanya knew a little bit about Patch, just from what Klaus told her. Diego hadn't told Klaus much about Patch either, so Vanya didn't have much to go on. Five did tell her that Diego liked Patch because she believed in people, only after making superficial comments. Vanya wasn't sure how to go about Diego's feelings. She didn't know he had any until recently, to be honest. After she wrote that book about all of them, Diego seemed to take it the hardest. Maybe he didn't realize how he treated or talked to her when they were younger. He was aggressive and abrasive and treated her like an Other in the house. She wanted to understand where he was coming from, as her therapist told her it would be good to repair their relationship now that the apocalypse wasn't coming. 

Diego was hesitant to answer Vanya. He retrospectively knew how he treated Vanya when they were younger. He didn't realize how it made her feel when he told her that she wasn't special enough to go on missions with them. The others told her that too, it was just his tone that made it sound unnecessarily mean. "That, and mom." Diego took all of his knives out of the tree bark, turning to go back inside. 

"You know, if you need to talk to someone, I'm here. And if you don't want that, I can give you my therapist's number. She's easy to talk to." Vanya offered.

"Thanks, but I..." He hesitated, thinking. He took a breath so his tone didn't come out how it usually did. His voice softened. "Maybe later." She nodded, following him back into the house and going her own way.

Upstairs, Five was working on equations in his notebook. Vanya bought him an actual lined notebook so he wouldn't have to write in the margins of her book anymore. He also wasn't allowed to write on the cabin walls. They didn't own it. Five was trying to figure out a way to get his adult body back, or ahead maybe, to the age he should be. He thought that it would be difficult to figure out a way to get time to travel through his body forward, just like it went backward when he got this way. Same, but opposite. He also wanted to make sure that he himself wouldn't travel ahead through time and get stuck again. He sort of knew how to do it, but the equations helped him pinpoint the timings better so that maybe he wouldn't totally screw it up. As much as looking like a thirteen-year-old boy could have some advantages, it mostly came with its disadvantages. 

Five also wondered if it would be a good idea to go back to the day he traveled sixteen years into the future and stop himself from doing it. How much would it change the timeline? Surely, he would grow up with the rest of his siblings just like he was supposed to. He could figure out how to control his powers better, including time travel, and perfect it. Could he save Ben from dying? Would Five help Vanya by telling her about her powers and help her to control them before they got out of hand? Or would the Handler find a way to make it go on as planned? So many variables, so much that could go wrong.

He liked how things were going now. He began to put the apocalypse past him. Sometimes he still had PTSD-type flashbacks, but they were getting better. He enjoyed spending time with his siblings and repairing some relationships, sparingly, of course. He was still used to his alone time. He was still working on it. He was learning things about his siblings that he missed out on during his time away. He learned quite a bit about them from Vanya's book. Five liked to surprise them with this secret knowledge. They didn't think he knew much about their adult lives. He knew how Reginald "saved" Luther and made him what he is now; he knew that Diego got kicked out of the police academy, and that that's why he turned vigilante; he knew that Allison had a family and flourishing acting career, although most people would know that because she was on the cover of every magazine; he knew that Klaus started using right after falling down the stairs, breaking his jaw, and getting addicted to the painkillers he was prescribed; he knew Ben died on a mission when he was seventeen and that Luther still blamed himself for it; and he knew that Vanya left the house as soon as she could afford to and joined the orchestra because it was the one thing in her life that made her feel anything but ordinary.

He took a break from his equations, bookmarking his spot in his notebook for later. The boy went downstairs to find all of his siblings in the kitchen making sandwiches for lunch. "You guys eating without me?" He said, sounding fake hurt.

"We thought you'd still want your alone time. I made one for you." Vanya said, handing Five his own plate. Peanut butter and marshmallows. She remembered. He sat down at the dining room table next to Klaus and what he assumed was Ben's seat on the other side of him.

"Your face is looking a little pink." Five said, gesturing to Klaus's nose.

"Come on! I put sunscreen on, I was under an umbrella, and I wasn't even out there that long! Maybe the sun just doesn't like me." Klaus sank down in his chair defeated.

"That makes two of us." Ben said under his breath, though Klaus still heard him. Klaus materialized him, his hands and Ben's body glowing blue.

"Wanna say that again, Ben?" Klaus challenged. 

Everyone looked in Ben's direction. They still were in awe every time Klaus made him appear before them. They said their hellos. Ben sheepishly explained his joke, making some of them laugh. Klaus let go and Ben was gone once again. It was good for Klaus to practice. He was getting stronger, so maybe one day he could keep Ben here for more than five minutes, and maybe he could find Dave. It was a long shot, but he was still hopeful.

Later that evening, Luther drove Allison to the nearest airport. He played his CDs to pass the time and avoid any awkward silence. When he came back, everyone was sitting at the beach, watching the sunset. Diego and Vanya were sitting just in front of where the water met the sand, talking about something he couldn't hear. That was odd for them. Five was sitting on Klaus's beach chair, writing vehemently in his notebook, stopping to think every so often. Klaus was jumping through the waves, laughing as the larger ones knocked him almost off his feet. Luther didn't know, but Ben wasn't there. He was off, wherever he was, working on Klaus's surprise. Klaus figured out that Ben was looking for something, but he still didn't know what for.

Luther took off his large overcoat, not wanting it to get wet, leaving it hanging on the deck railing. He joined his siblings on the beach, standing with his feet in the water and watching Klaus, making sure he wouldn't get hurt or potentially drown. When it was getting too dark, he went back into the house to get Klaus a towel, still the big brother he always tried to be. The wind was picking up cold air from the water and bringing it ashore. Klaus shivered in his towel, but still smiling. 

They played some more board games, which eventually descended into chaos because Allison wasn't there to keep everyone calm and keep the games fair. Vanya tried to assume the position, even though Luther and Diego tended to argue over her anyway, but she still tried her best. Klaus acknowledged that she asserted herself as the new authority and didn't cheat at Monopoly this time. Because of this, he lost miserably, plunging himself into crippling debt a half hour into game play. Five won, because of course he did. Still, no one wanted to play Twister when Klaus suggested it. The game that ended up being the most fun and fair ended up being Go Fish. They played about ten rounds, each winning at least once. Klaus was always the sore winner, and Five the sore loser, saying that this game was up to chance and that there was no way he could win if there was no strategy to it.

Cleaning up around eleven that night, Five actually went to sleep, tired from a long day of working at his time travel question. He fell asleep on the couch just before they were going to quit playing, Luther having to carry him to bed.

Luther also went to sleep, only after a long time of staring at the ceiling and missing Allison. He wished he could tell her how he felt without making it weird, but he just couldn't figure out how. And anyway, she had a family. Regardless of her divorce, he'd feel weird about dating the mother of his niece.

Diego played with his knives before going to sleep, thinking about his talk with Vanya earlier on the beach. He told her about how he and Patch were a thing, and that it hurt when she broke up with him, and it hurt that he still saw her when he worked at night. He wished he could tell her he loved her one last time. He also told her about how he was the one to shut down Mom because it was "her time." Vanya was shocked at first, but she understood that it had to happen sooner or later. She just never thought it would be Diego who would do it.

Vanya went up to the room she used to share with Allison, now sharing it with Klaus. He moved all of his stuff into the room, even though they were leaving tomorrow. He kept her up a little while longer, painting her nails, gossiping about their siblings, and telling her a little about Dave. Some things about Dave he wouldn't tell anyone, like what he and Dave got up to when they were alone, wink wink. He told both Vanya and Diego what he looked like, his general personality, and some of his little quirks that Klaus just loved. None of the other soldiers picked up on them because Dave spent most of his free time with Klaus anyway. The last four months of Klaus's time in Vietnam was spent attached to Dave's hip. Whenever they went to Saigon on their week's leave, they barely left the hotel room, not wanting to be judged by any fellow soldiers they might encounter on the street. When they did go out, they went to bars and clubs, but spent most of their time holed up alone in the corner. He told Vanya now that he had been thinking about trying to find Dave's ghost so he could at least talk to him, and how Diego thought it was a bad idea because he should let Dave go. Vanya told him that if he really thought it was a good idea, to go for it. But if he thought it would make his heart hurt more, then maybe he shouldn't. He said he'd think about it and went to sleep.


	6. Saturday

Luther, of course, was the first to wake that morning. He gathered his things, shoving them back into his oversized and overstuffed suitcase. He checked through the whole room once again, making sure he remembered everything he brought with him. Once he was satisfied, he made his way downstairs to make coffee and watch the sun rise over the ocean waves one last time before they left later that morning.

Luther's shuffling upstairs woke Diego, who also packed his things, although there wasn't much he brought in the first place, and brewed a pot of coffee. He got two mugs for himself and Luther down from the cabinet, pouring the coffee fresh from the pot, and adding milk and sugar to Luther's liking. Diego took his coffee black, like real men do, he said. 

Luther shuffled downstairs, surprised to see Diego up, first of all, but also to see that Diego made him a cup of coffee without being asked. Luther made his way over to the breakfast bar where Diego and the coffee mugs were sitting. "Morning." Diego said quietly, as not to wake the others yet.

"Morning." Luther curtly replied. "What's with the coffee?"

Diego mulled over the question for a moment, trying to think of an answer. "I've been thinking a lot lately. And I'm trying to 'rebuild relationships', like Vanya said we should." He took a sip of his coffee. It was still too hot, burning his mouth, but he didn't so much as cringe to make himself appear tough after talking about feelings and stuff with Luther.

"It is a good idea, now that, you know, mom and dad are both gone. All we have now is each other. Do you wanna sit out there with me?"

"I'm good in here. Too much too soon."

Luther nodded. Things would take time, especially with Diego, who was the most hesitant at having any form of relationship with Luther. 

Five was the next up. He went straight to the coffee pot, still complaining about the quality of it, even though he was the one who picked out the coffee in the first place. "Maybe it's you who doesn't know how to properly make a pot of coffee." Five spat at Diego. Diego just rolled his eyes at his "little" brother.

After coffee, Five gathered his things as well, dragging his backpack and Dolores down the stairs, setting them by the door. Diego noticed that Five dressed Dolores in different outfits every day but learned not to say anything about it. He would just get an earful about shit he didn't care about anymore.

Around nine, Vanya woke up, waking up Klaus, who was still dead asleep, and would be for many hours more if she didn't. Vanya neatly arranged her clothes in her suitcase, packing her violin back into its case, and making sure Klaus was getting up and ready as well. Klaus liked to think that he was more of an adult now, that he didn't need to be babysat, but he would never get moving in the morning if no one came to get him up. Baby steps.

Now that everyone was downstairs, and the house had been cleaned of their belongings, Luther began packing their bags into the trunk of the van. Klaus didn't get dressed, still in his pajamas, wanting to be comfortable for the car ride home, which he would probably sleep most of the way anyway. 

Vanya made sure to pack the food they bought at the grocery store earlier in the week and clean out the fridge. Luther also brought this to the van. They still had plenty of food left, seeing that Klaus was allowed to get whatever he wanted, according to Allison. Apparently, that meant that Klaus would buy whatever he saw going down the aisles of the grocery store. There were snacks that none of them even opened yet.

Once they were all ready to leave, and the house had been returned to its original state, they packed into the van and set on the journey home. They had to stop at the first rest stop along the highway about thirty minutes into their trip because Klaus had to pee. Everyone told him to make sure he went before they left, but he said he didn't have to go then. And he thought he was as adult as the rest of them. Back on the road again, Luther popped his CD into the CD player, turning up the volume as loud as he wanted. Diego secretly liked Luther's music, having similar taste, but never would admit it. Klaus slept through most of it, only rousing when Queen came on. Five complained about the volume, again, but settled eventually when one of his favorite songs crept its way onto the playlist. Ben tapped his foot and mouthed the lyrics to all of the songs most of the ride home, not wanting to disturb his sleeping brother, but still as into the music as Luther was. He used to listen to Luther's record player through the walls when they were kids. It was one of the few things they had in common. Vanya didn't complain, not wanting to rock the boat too much, still wary about her relationship with Luther. She'd like to keep things civil. Vanya thought that he was trying as well, and that he wouldn't get mad if asked him to turn it down or to change the song, but she'd rather not test that theory, just in case.

The ride home felt longer than the ride there. Klaus woke up with about a half hour to go, asking every so often how much longer until they got home. This drove everyone crazy. "Klaus, if you ask one more time, I'm going to kill you and make it look like an accident." Five hissed.

They finally reached the mansion, Klaus throwing open the car door before they were fully parked. He had to pee again. When he came back, Luther was unloading the van and the others were taking their bags back inside the house. Diego said he would take the van back to the rental place. Klaus said he would drive the van there and Diego could follow him so that he had a ride home. No one was for this plan except Klaus, but Diego let him anyway. Klaus had been getting better at driving ever since getting back from Vietnam, where he drove army Jeeps all the time. No one really knew this about him since he didn't tell anyone except Diego about what he did while on duty.

"You be careful. If I see you swerve or go above the speed limit, I swear to god." Diego pointed his finger into his brother's chest, getting his full attention.

Klaus put his hands up in protest. "I promise with all my heart, I'll be careful."

Diego was nervous the whole ten-minute drive to the rental place, watching from behind the van with eagle vision. Klaus made it there in one piece, thankfully. He dropped off the keys in the office and met Diego back at his car, sliding into the passenger seat. "See? I told you I'd be careful."

"You did. Can't be too sure with you, though. You have your moments." 

"I'm doing much better lately. Aren't you proud of me?" Klaus looked lovingly, but also jokingly, at his brother.

"I am." Diego said after a moment. Klaus placed his hand over Diego's, which was resting on the center console. He gave it a friendly pat and pulled away. Diego wasn't one for intimacy, familial or otherwise. Diego noticed Klaus's slight frown as he pulled his hand away, slightly upset at the lack of human contact he so desperately craved. He took Klaus's hand back in his, not really knowing what he was doing. It made Klaus happy again, and that was all that really mattered to him. 

Everyone went their separate ways again once they were settled in the house and had unpacked all their stuff. Luther went to the gym to work out since he gave himself a break all week. Diego put his new knives in his case under his bed with all the other ones, and fixed the ones he made a note of when he first tested them out. Klaus hung out with Ben in his room. Five hung out with Dolores in his. Vanya practiced a new violin piece that she would have to perform in her orchestra tomorrow. 

Allison called Vanya later that afternoon to make sure everyone got home okay. Vanya kept her up to date on what they got up to after she left. It wasn't very eventful, as Allison was the lively one of the family, so it was a short conversation. Allison then mentioned that she wanted everyone to come with her when she visited Claire sometime soon so she could meet all of them. It would be easier if Allison were to take Claire home with her, but she wasn't sure is Patrick or the court would allow that. She said she'd work on it. Vanya was willing to meet Claire either way. They all were.

That evening, Diego began making dinner for them all. He made burgers and fries, something easy. None of them had a particularly hard day but being in the car as long as they were was exhausting. He called them all down, having to wait for Five to finish up his thought as he was still working on his new equations. 

They all sat around the dining room table like they did when they all lived in the same house. Now that Allison, Diego, and Vanya all had places of their own, it was harder to get together as often as they probably should. Five didn't leave the mansion much, except to go to the library for more books. Klaus went between the mansion and Diego's place when the memories of his childhood in the mansion became too much for him, or the ghosts there were too noisy. Ben, of course, followed him wherever he went, not that many of them noticed that. Luther lived there full-time, still.

Diego remembered to leave a place setting out for Ben. Everyone was getting used to doing that now, since Klaus had been doing it ever since Ben died and also since the others believed that he was really talking to Ben and not thin air, as demonstrated earlier in the week. 

Sometime in the middle of dinner, Ben spoke up. "Klaus, can you make me, you know..." Ben vaguely gestured his hands at himself.

"Yeah, sure, why?" Klaus whispered, not sure where Ben was going with this. "Hey, guys, Ben has something he wants to share with the group."

He concentrated, clenched his fists, hands glowing blue, and Ben appeared seconds later, glowing just like Klaus's hands. "This, actually, is really more of a surprise for just you. I thought maybe everyone would still like to see it, though." Klaus looked confused. "So, you know how I left you alone sometimes and went off somewhere when we were on vacation? I was working on this surprise for you, and it's finally time for you to see it."

Ben walked out of the room. No one saw where he went, even though Klaus was still making him corporeal. He came back seconds later, standing in the doorway between the dining and living rooms, whispering to someone or something behind the wall separating the two rooms. "Okay. Are you ready?" He asked Klaus.

"Yes, dear brother. What have you got for me?" Klaus asked suspiciously. He half expected Reginald to walk out into the open and criticize them all for their life choices, although he wasn't sure why Ben would do that to them, if that was even his surprise. 

Klaus was half paying attention, more focusing on keeping Ben there than anything else. He heard his siblings gasp and whisper at the surprise. He turned towards the doorway to see what all the fuss was about. There was another figure standing next to Ben. Klaus first saw the figure's feet, eyeing his way upwards. He stopped concentrating on Ben when he got to the figure's face.

The figure was the first to speak, "Hi, Klaus."

"Dave."


End file.
